Albany (NY) Symphony Orchestra / Derek Bermel: 5-week residency

For over thirty years, the Albany Symphony Orchestra has adhered to the belief that its primary reason for existing is to serve living American composers through the performance of their music. In March 2002, Derek Bermel will serve for five weeks as composer-in-residence for the Orchestra's American Music Festival. The centerpiece of the Festival will be a subscription concert that will feature Mr. Bermel's Voices, a concerto for clarinet and orchestra, with the composer as soloist. Mr. Bermel will discuss his work in pre-performance discussions at the Albany Public Library and The Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy, NY.

Another main component of the American Music Festival will be a pair of performances by the Albany Symphony Orchestra's 16-member new music ensemble, the Dogs of Desire, which explores the world of American popular culture through newly commissioned works. In collaboration with the Orchestra's Music Director David Alan Miller, Derek Bermel will design a thematically unified program for these concerts that will explore an aspect of popular culture. Mr. Bermel will compose a new work and select nine young American composers who will be commissioned to write works for this program. In addition, he will moderate a discussion forum for composers and composition students from local universities at an open rehearsal, host the two performances, and lead pre-concert discussions along with the nine selected composers.

During his Music Alive residency, Mr. Bermel will also work with clarinet students from five high schools in the Albany region and will compose works for and participate in the "Dynamic Duos" project of the Albany Symphony, where members of the orchestra create pieces for their students and the students learn to compose works for their teachers. In addition, he will lead an in-school instrument-making program for children in the third, fourth, and fifth grades at two inner-city schools in Albany and Troy, NY.

Trained at Yale University and the University of Michigan, Derek Bermel studied composition with William Albright, Louis Andriessen, William Bolcom and Michael Tenzer. Mr. Bermel is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Fulbright Fellowship, a Guggenheim Award, a New York Foundation for the Arts Creative Artists Fellowship and several ASCAP awards. He has been commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the Birmingham Royal Ballet (UK), and the New York Youth Symphony, among others. Mr. Bermel writes in a variety of musical styles, from symphonic works to chamber music and theatrical pieces. He is also an accomplished clarinetist and conductor.

American Composers Orchestra (NY) / Tod Machover: 3-week residency

The American Composers Orchestra was founded in 1977 to perform and promote the music of American composers and remains the only orchestra in the world exclusively devoted to this goal. Their Music Alive residency with Tod Machover will encompass three weeks: two in the fall of 2001 and one in the spring of 2002. As the central focus of the residency, Mr. Machover will coordinate the Conference on Orchestra Technology to take place October 10 - 15, 2001. This conference will bring together a dozen composers as well as other music professionals from around the country to exchange their ideas and music; to explore the current state of the art; to discuss the future applications of digital technologies in orchestral composition and performance; and to engage and educate the public about the past, present and future of orchestral music that employs technology. Mr. Machover will play a crucial role in planning the conference, including the programming of performances and the selection of composers and other music professionals to participate. He will also lead the conference proceedings, overseeing a schedule of professional meetings, including composer-to-composer exchanges, master classes, and public symposia.

Tod Machover (photo: Webb Chappell)

During the conference and Mr. Machover's residency, there will be several performances exploring current and past uses of technology in chamber music, chamber orchestra and full symphony orchestra. The Conference on Orchestra Technology will culminate with the world premiere of Mr. Machover's Fireball, on Sunday, October 14, 2001 at New York's Carnegie Hall.

The spring phase of the residency will be devoted to additional educational and professional development activities. Mr. Machover will participate in "The Music Factory: Composers in the Schools" program, working with New York City high school students in exploring the process of creating new music using technology, as well as in the American Composers Orchestra's annual Whitaker New Music Reading Sessions, where he will serve as an advisor and mentor to several emerging composers whose works will be rehearsed and read in day-long sessions. Mr. Machover will also work with the artistic leadership and management of the Orchestra in the development of new programs, including a series in Carnegie Hall's new performance space, Zankel Hall.

After receiving degrees from The Juilliard School in New York, where he studied with Elliott Carter and Roger Sessions, Tod Machover was appointed Director of Musical Research at Pierre Boulez's IRCAM institute in Paris (1978-85). He joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Laboratory in 1985 as Professor of Music & Media, Head of the Opera of the Future/Hyperinstruments, and since 1995, Co-Director of the Things That Think (TTT) and Toys of Tomorrow (TOT) consortia. Mr. Machover's compositions, which offer a unique and innovative synthesis of acoustic and electronic sound, have been performed and commissioned by leading ensembles and organizations throughout the world, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Houston Grand Opera, the London Sinfonietta, the Ensemble InterContemporain (Paris), the Ensemble Modern (Frankfurt), the Tokyo String Quartet, the Kronos Quartet and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

Colorado Symphony Association / Michael Daugherty: 2-week residency

Since its inception, the Colorado Symphony Association has been committed to the commissioning, performance, and recording of contemporary music as a way of invigorating and strengthening the art form, as well as expanding its audience. Under the leadership of Music Director Marin Alsop, the Orchestra has sought to include music by living composers on subscription, education and family concerts. The Orchestra is currently instituting a new initiative entitled "Programming with Purpose." The concept of this initiative is to build programming from an interconnected, rational base, which relates not only the repertoire within a single concert program but also across the spectrum of programs offered over time, whether that time is over one or multiple seasons.

Michael Daugherty (photo used with permission)

Successful performances in May 2000 of Michael Daugherty's Metropolis Symphony began the long-term partnership between Mr. Daugherty and the Colorado Symphony Association, which is planned to culminate in a recording of the residency works in the spring of 2003. Mr. Daugherty's 2001-02 Music Alive residency with the Colorado Symphony will focus on providing opportunities for Denver audiences to become further involved with Mr. Daugherty's music and the Orchestra's new "Programming with Purpose" initiative. During Mr. Daugherty's two residency weeks, the Colorado Symphony will perform three of his works, Sunset Strip, Route 66, and Hell's Angels. He will also participate in the preparation of his compositions for performance in orchestra rehearsals and in the Orchestra's existing adult education programs - "ConcerTalks" (pre-concert talks), "Talk-Backs" (informal post-concert discussions with the conductor and participating artists hosted by an orchestra musician), and "Tattered Cover" events (an informal play/talk series at the Tattered Cover Bookstore).

In addition, Mr. Daugherty will collaborate closely with the Orchestra's artistic leaders and management in developing program plans for future seasons and will serve as an advisor to the conducting staff, artistic administrator and education director in the development of organizational programming objectives and activities that will further enhance patrons' knowledge, understanding and appreciation of contemporary repertoire. During each residency week, Mr. Daugherty will conduct master classes for composition students at Denver University.

Michael Daugherty received a doctorate in music composition from Yale University, where he studied with Earle Brown, Jacob Druckman, Bernard Rands, Roger Reynolds and Gyorgy Ligeti. He is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including a Kennedy Center Friedheim Award, Lincoln Center's Stoeger Prize for Contemporary Music, a Fulbright Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship. Mr. Daugherty's compositions have been performed by leading orchestras and ensembles throughout Europe and the United States, including The Cleveland Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Kronos Quartet, the London Sinfonietta, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, and the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis and San Francisco. Michael Daugherty is currently the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's composer-in-residence and a professor of composition at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor).

Helena (MT) Symphony / Tomas Svoboda: 3-week residency

As the only completely volunteer symphony in the state of Montana, the Helena Symphony is celebrating its 45th year of presenting orchestral and choral music to Helena and the surrounding areas. In recent years, the Orchestra has placed a major emphasis on educational outreach, including sponsoring week-long residencies with nationally recognized guest artists, and donating tickets to area schools and to private instructors for music students to attend performances free of charge.

Tomas Svoboda (photo: Robert Shotola)

The world premiere performance in May 2002 of Tomas Svoboda's May Overture will be the focal point of his three-week residency with the Helena Symphony. Mr. Svoboda will participate in the preparation of his work for performance, give a pre-concert lecture to educate the audience about his compositions, and work closely with the board, donors and musicians of the Symphony to enhance their understanding of the vitality of new music in concert repertoire. During his residency, Mr. Svoboda will also be a guest speaker in music classes at Carroll College, Montana State University - Bozeman, and the University of Montana - Missoula.

Born in Paris of Czech parents, Tomas Svoboda spent his early childhood in Boston, where he began his musical education on the piano at the age of three. After his family's return to Prague in 1946, Mr. Svoboda continued his musical studies, entering the Prague Conservatory of Music as its youngest student. In 1964, he immigrated to the United States, and began studying composition with Ingolf Dahl and Halsey Stevens at the University of Southern California, where he earned a Master's degree in 1969. Mr. Svoboda's music has been performed by The Cleveland Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and The Philadelphia Orchestra, among many others. His numerous awards include a 1992 Oregon Governor's Award for the Arts.

Los Angeles Philharmonic / Osvaldo Golijov: 3-week residency

Founded in 1919, the Los Angeles Philharmonic is considered one of the great American orchestras both at home and abroad. The Philharmonic, which in November 2001 launches "On Location," an annual artist residency program, has selected Osvaldo Golijov to initiate the program as its Music Alive composer-in-residence during the 2001-02 season. During his three-week residency, Mr. Golijov will work with Philharmonic musicians and artistic staff in preparing three of his works for performance - the Los Angeles premiere of Last Rounds during orchestral concerts on November 2, 3, and 4; Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind on a Chamber Music series concert; and a yet-to-be-announced piece on the "Green Umbrella" series, which features compositions on the cutting edge of the contemporary repertoire. In addition, Mr. Golijov will participate in pre-concert discussions, workshops for community organizations, and lectures at California State University, the Los Angeles County High School of the Arts, and the Skirball Cultural Center.

Osvaldo Golijov (photo: Alejandro Golijov)

Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov immigrated to the United States in 1986, where he earned his Ph.D. under George Crumb at the University of Pennsylvania. A past winner of the Koussevitzky Composition Prize, Mr. Golijov has more recently won France's Diapason D'Or (1997), the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's Stoeger Prize for Contemporary Music (1996), and the Kennedy Center's Friedheim Award (in 1993 and again in 1995). Described by The New York Times as a "musical alchemist (who) conjures up new worlds," Mr. Golijov blends the diverse distills a distinctive musical language. In addition to the recent U.S. premiere of his La Pasión Según San Marcos by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Golijov's upcoming premieres include works for the Kronos Quartet, Dawn Upshaw, and the soundtrack for a new film by Sally Potter, starring Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchet and Cristina Ricci.

Music in the Mountains Orchestra (CA) / Howard Hersh: 2-week residency

Located in the Sierra Nevada foothills, the Music in the Mountains Orchestra provides a year-round program of orchestral performances, chamber music festivals, and educational and community outreach activities. The core of its work is its annual summer festival, a three-week series of orchestral concerts performed by an ensemble of professional musicians from throughout the United States.

Howard Hersch (photo used with permission)

Howard Hersh's two-week Music Alive residency will be highlighted by the June 2002 premiere of his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, with concertmaster Robin Mayforth as soloist. This performance will be preceded in the spring of 2002 by the premiere of a work for chamber ensemble by Mr. Hersh, commissioned by the Music in the Mountains Orchestra. Mr. Hersh will participate in the preparation of his works for performance, as well as direct and host a series of meet-the-composer events. One of these discussions will be devoted to his music and the premiere of his new Concerto, and two others will include additional composers, who will introduce their work and discuss the role of new music in the 21st century. During his residency, Mr. Hersh will also participate in the planning of the repertoire for future seasons and the development of an understanding of the contemporary repertoire among the organization's audiences, leaders and supporters.

Howard Hersh studied composition at Stanford University, where he received Bachelor's and Master's degrees. His music has been presented at the Tanglewood Festival, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's Monday Evening Concerts, and the Stuttgart State Theater. Mr. Hersh is currently music director of a non-profit organization, Music Now, a new music ensemble in residence at California State University in Sacramento.

National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, DC) / Stewart Wallace: 3-week residency

Building on its established history of commissioning, promoting and performing new music, The National Symphony Orchestra has selected Stewart Wallace to be its composer-in-residence for three-weeks during the 2001-2002 season. In April 1999, the Symphony performed the U.S. premiere of Gorilla in a Cage, a work composed by Mr. Wallace for percussionist Evelyn Glennie. The National Symphony Orchestra will perform this work during Mr. Wallace's residency in October 2001 and will present its New York premiere at Carnegie Hall later in the season.

Stewart Wallace (photo: Steve J. Sherman)

During the first week of Mr. Wallace's residency, an overall effort will be placed on reaching groups of people outside of the Kennedy Center, the home of the National Symphony Orchestra, to stimulate interest in and educate a wider audience for new music. Performances and activities during this week will include workshops for students at area universities.

During the second week of the residency, the focus will be on the presentation of new music combined with continued outreach activities. In connection with the performance of Stewart Wallace's Gorilla in a Cage with Evelyn Glennie as soloist, Mr. Wallace will attend all working rehearsals to provide insight about his piece to both Music Director Leonard Slatkin and National Symphony musicians. One of these rehearsals will be open to senior citizens and student groups, and following the rehearsal, Mr. Wallace will be available to answer questions. Following the performance will be a post-concert panel discussion with Stewart Wallace, Leonard Slatkin and Evelyn Glennie. In addition, chamber works by Mr. Wallace will be performed in a concert presented on the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage, which is free and open to the public. Mr. Wallace will introduce each work and will be available afterward for questions.

The final week of Stewart Wallace's Music Alive residency will focus on working with the National Symphony Orchestra's board, donors, and artistic and administrative staff on activities that will have a direct impact on the programming of new music in future seasons. The composer will participate in discussions and presentations to review the overall success of the previous two weeks of the residency, which will provide the impetus to review and augment plans for the future of new music within the Orchestra.

The recipient of three ASCAP Young Composer Awards, Stewart Wallace has written for opera, theater, concert hall, film and ballet. Harvey Milk, his fifth full-length opera and most widely known score, was commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera, the New York City Opera, and the San Francisco Opera and received its world premiere in January 1995 in Houston. Upcoming works by Mr. Wallace include Yiddisher Teddy Bears, his second collaboration with writer-director Richard Foreman; Supermax, a new opera with libretto by Michael Korie and directed by Scott Elliot for the New Group; and a Concerto for Electric Guitar composed for Marc Ribot and the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Leonard Slatkin.

Richmond (VA) Symphony Orchestra / Michael Abels: 2-week residency

The recipient of seven ASCAP Awards for Adventuresome Programming within the past ten years, the Richmond Symphony has selected Michael Abels to be composer-in-residence for two weeks during the 2001-02 concert season. Activities planned for Mr. Abels' Music Alive residency include a performance of his work Frederick's Fables on one of the Symphony's Family Concerts, which will feature music based on bedtime stories for children. During the concert, conductor Mark Russell Smith and Mr. Abels will introduce basic structural concepts common to storytelling and music composition, as well as an exploration of the unique ways that music can tell a story. In addition, Michael Abels' Global Warming, a work for orchestra and ethnic rhythm instruments, will be performed on the Orchestra's opening night Masterworks subscription series concert. Mr. Abels will discuss his work in pre-performance lectures.

Michael Abels (photo: Elliot de Picciotto)

Michael Abels will also partner with the Jazz Music Department of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond on a season-long mentoring project with the department's composition/orchestration students, in which Mr. Abels will conduct a series of clinics/workshops on arranging gospel music for orchestra and chorus. The project will culminate in the Richmond Symphony's annual Gospel Celebration concert, which will feature some of Mr. Abels' gospel arrangements.

Michael Abels attended the University of Southern California, where he studied with James Hopkins and Robert Linn. His works have been performed by The Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and the symphonies of Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit, and Baltimore, among others. Mr. Abels recently completed the Meet The Composer New Residencies program, a community-based three-year residency in the Watts community of Los Angeles.

Seattle (WA) Symphony Orchestra / Zhou Long: 3-week residency

The Seattle Symphony has a longstanding commitment o new music and has invited composer Zhou Long to be its Music Alive composer-in-residence during the Symphony's Silk Road Project, which will be presented in collaboration with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. In May 2002, the Seattle Symphony, Yo-Yo Ma, and Silk Road Ensemble will present concerts and educational activities that will cross traditional programming and cultural boundaries.

Zhou Long (photo used with permission)

During the residency, Zhou Long will work closely with Music Director Gerard Schwarz and Symphony musicians in rehearsals of his work Two Poems from Tang, which will be performed in one of the festival's full-orchestra performances. In addition, he will participate in the Seattle Symphony's joint educational activities with the Seattle Art Museum, the Wing Luke Asian Museum, the Seattle Public Library, and the University of Washington School of Music and Walter Chapin Simpson Center for the Humanities. He will also work with students and other composers of the Symphony's "Young Composers Workshop," which provides talented pre-college students with mentorship opportunities over an intensive three-month period.

Born in Beijing, China, Zhou Long studied composition under Su Xia at the Central Conservatory in Beijing. He came to the United States in 1985 to study composition with Chou Wen-Chung, Mario Davidovsky and George Edwards at Columbia University, where he received his doctorate in 1993. Mr. Zhou's music, which merges Eastern and Western cultures, combines ancient Chinese musical traditions and free atonal composition into a coherent and personal statement. Mr. Zhou's works have been performed and recorded by the Central Philharmonic Orchestra of China, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, the Russian Philharmonic, the Kronos Quartet, Chanticleer, New York's New Music Consort, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, among others. Currently, Zhou Long is the music director of Music from China and composer-in-residence with the New Music Consort in New York City.

The Music Alive program is made possible by a lead gift from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation with additional support from the John S. & James L. Knight Foundation and the Aaron Copland Fund for Music.